Texas Families Ask Supreme Court to Block Ten Commandments School Law Affecting 2 Dozen Households
Updated
Updated · Fox News · Aug 20
Texas Families Ask Supreme Court to Block Ten Commandments School Law Affecting 2 Dozen Households
3 articles · Updated · Fox News · Aug 20
Summary
Roughly two dozen Texas families have asked the Supreme Court to block a state law requiring public schools to display the Ten Commandments in classrooms.
The families, backed by groups including the ACLU, argue the mandate violates the First Amendment by placing a religious text on public school walls and could pressure or exclude non-Christian or nonreligious students.
Texas has defended the law, and a federal appeals court upheld it, saying students are not required to recite the commandments, believe them or affirm their religious origins.
Austin-area mother Brittany McFarland, whose 5-year-old daughter attends public school, said the displays are small, not devotional, and handled by teachers as a legal posting rather than religious instruction.
The justices have not yet agreed to hear the case, but if they do, it could become a major test of how the First Amendment applies to religious expression in public schools.